The prevention of biofouling on the hulls of ships is presently achieved by means of toxic paints. Regulations on the use of these paints, due to the leach rates of pesticide materials into the aquatic environment, will force shipbuilders and ship owners to search for alternative methods for the prevention of fouling. One environmentally friendly alternative is to use electricity. From scientific literature it is known that even small electric fields prevent the growth of aquatic nuisance species on surfaces. This method has previously not been applied to ships due to the belief that biofouling prevention with small electric fields requires the application of a continuous voltage source. Even for small voltages, the energy dissipation would be to high for this system to be affordable for the average ship application. A second factor is that in previous experimental studies, the surface to be protected was one of the two electrodes required to form a circuit. In the case of a ship, it would require a second electrode shell to be placed around the hull of the ship to supply a uniform field distribution. This would require major modifications to the design of the ship.
It is to the solution of these and other problems that the present invention is directed.